You asked for it

Butterscotch pie is a comforting classic

Jean Guimond asked for a recipe for butterscotch custard pie. Her grandmother, whose heritage was British, used to make it. Two readers have sent classic recipes.

L.G. DuPont found hers in a book of recipes collected by the late food writer Clementine Paddleford of the New York Herald Tribune and This Week magazine.

Natalie Pruitt Judge's recipe comes from an all-time Southern classic, Southern Cooking, by Mrs. S.R. Dull. This book, copyrighted in 1928 and 1941, has been a standby in Southern kitchens.

If you can't decide between butterscotch and chocolate, L.G. DuPont sends another recipe, this one from Hershey's 1934 cookbook, that may satisfy.

Yes, Marilynn Jordan, many readers saved the lace cookie recipe that was featured in a Karo ad. These cookies are delicious.

Lillian Smith shares the recipe for lace cookies from Brugge, which she found in a cookbook with a wonderful title: Everybody Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook.

"This is a very old recipe for a crisp almond cookie that is thought to resemble the fine, delicate lace that made Brugge famous. They are delicious with ice cream or simply as an accompaniment to coffee or tea," according to the cookbook's description.

For: Jean Guimond of Clearwater.

From: L.G. DuPont of Ocala.

Recipe: Sara Wheeler's Butterscotch Pie, from The Best American Cooking Recipes, collected by Clementine Paddleford.

21/2 cups milk, divided

2 eggs, separated

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup water

1/8 teaspoon salt

11/2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 8-inch baked pastry shell

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 cup sugar

Thoroughly combine 1/2 cup of the milk, egg yolks and flour. Set aside.

Scald remaining 2 cups of milk over hot water. Combine brown sugar, water and salt in skillet. Place over low heat and bring to a gentle boil. Cook until it thickens and a few bubbles break, sending up not whiffs, but puffs, of smoke. Add sugar mixture slowly, stirring constantly, to scalded milk. When smooth, slowly stir in egg-yolk mixture and cook, stirring constantly, over hot water until thick. Remove. Add butter, vanilla; stir well. Cool.

Pour filling into cooled pie shell. Make a meringue using 2 egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar. Spread over pie. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until delicately browned. Yield: 1 8-inch pie.

From: Natalie Pruitt Judge of St. Petersburg.

Recipe: Butterscotch Custard Pie, from Mrs. S.R. Dull's Southern Cooking, 1928, 1941.

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup sweet milk

Pinch of baking soda

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

3 eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 8-inch baked pastry shell

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

In skillet, cook sugar and butter until deep brown. Stir to prevent burning. Heat milk; add to sugar and butter; add soda and simmer until the sugar is melted.

Dissolve cornstarch in cold water; add egg yolks and mix well. Pour boiling sugar mixture over the yolks-cornstarch mixture. Return to heat and cook, stirring mixture very thick. Add vanilla and pour into ready-cooked pastry shell.

Make meringue by whipping three whites and 3 tablespoons of sugar until stiff peaks are formed. Cover top of pie and bake in a slow oven (about 275) for 10 minutes, or until done.

From: L.G. DuPont of Ocala.

Recipe: Chocolate Butterscotch Pie, from a 1934 Hershey's cookbook.

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

21/2 cups milk

6 tablespoons Hershey's Chocolate-Flavored Syrup

2 egg yolks, well beaten

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 9-inch baked pie shell

Sweetened whipped cream if desired

Thoroughly combine sugar, flour and salt. Stir in milk, chocolate syrup and beaten egg yolks. Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; blend in butter and vanilla. Pour into baked pie shell; cool. Chill in refrigerator. Serve with sweetened whipped cream if desired. Makes one 9-inch pie.

For: Patricia Baksa of Brooksville.

From: Bonny Boosales of Palm Harbor, Claire McFaul of Spring Hill, Shirley Magness of Largo, Marian Archdekin of Port Richey, Marise Allen of Fredericksburg, Va., Jean Hiller and Darlene Stringfellow of Clearwater, and Martha Scott and Keith Cook of New Port Richey.

Recipe: Lace Cookies from a 1960s Karo syrup ad.

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1 cup chopped flaked coconut or nuts

1/2 cup light corn syrup (Karo)

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 (1 stick) cup margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix flour and coconut. Combine corn syrup, brown sugar and margarine in heavy saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; gradually blend in flour mixture, then vanilla.

Drop onto foil-covered cookie sheet by scant teaspoonfuls, 3 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees 8 to 10 minutes. Cool 3 to 4 minutes on wire rack until foil may be easily peeled off. Remove foil; place cookies on rack covered with absorbent paper. Makes about 4 dozen.

From: Lillian Smith of Ridge Manor.

Recipe: Lace Cookies from Brugge from Everybody Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook by Ruth Van Waerebeek and Maria Robbins.

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons finely chopped almonds or hazelnuts

Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Sift the flour and gradually stir it into the butter mixture to make a smooth dough. Fold in the finely chopped nuts. Remove to a lightly floured surface and lightly knead the dough until smooth, about 1 minute.

Shape the dough into a log, 11/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight (a minimum of 12 hours is best).

Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil and butter the foil generously. (As an alternative, you can bake these cookies on nonstick baking sheets.) With a sharp knife, slice the dough as thinly as possible and arrange the rounds 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees until nicely browned around the edges, 3 to 4 minutes.

Let the cookies harden on the cookie sheets for about 1 minute, then remove them with a spatula to wire rack. You will have to work quickly; the cookies become very brittle as they cool. If the cookies cool and stick to the aluminum foil, return them to the warm oven for a few seconds. Makes about 50 cookies.

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